Separation from the System

Below are excerpts from emails which follow those in the following listing below in this Sporadic Log

(January 1, 2011)

Hi John,

Thank you for your helpful reply.

About 20 years ago my wife and I walked away from our religious heritage withall the consequences of such a thing.

We come from a branch of the so-called"Church of Christ" which in essence holdsthat the Bible contains all you need and that there is no operation of spiritseparate and apart from Bible study.

That wasn't working for us and still doesn'tso we left and started on this journey toattempt to submit to God and walk in faithand obedience, weak though it may be.

Since we do not have a Calvinist outlookand never have, we sort of come from a more Anabaptist-like view, I think...

So we've since had four children, now ages(listed). We've homeschooled thewhole way with the children. That journeyhas put us around other homeschool familiesand we've been part of home church groups andsome small churches and none of that hasreally gone all that well.

I was working as a manufacturing engineer in a General Motors plant when we got married and keptat that for about 15 years. I left that about 12years ago with the idea of starting somethingso I could be around the children at least a little bit instead of being gone all the time.

Still haven't had a job all that time, but mostlyhave lived off savings all this time.

We started a craft business selling soap made using milk from a family milk cow and had some success with that...

Then I set out to learn about the Internet andhave had some success with making money with stuff on the Internet.

So with credit union accounts, Paypal account,Amazon account, driver's license, IRA's and a lot of time and work, I can almost make a living for my family from home.

Of course, throw in the mix a life-time of gardening and poultry projects and we have 12 yearling calves raised from babies too.

My oldest son is a knife maker with some successat selling his work so far.

The other children also have craft and ruralliving skills of various sorts too.

Then too we have a small loose network of friends who do not work well enough together to have a regular church type set-up. But we still interact and talk about all kinds of stuffincluding at least a little about what the kingdom of God is and how it could work.

In addition, my wife and I and all the childrenare still working together well at this point.

However, the older ones can see the dead-end ofno driver's license and no ties to the system.

We see at least some of the complications of trying to divorce yourself from the world system.

It appears that some tie to the system is required to even live. You either maintain the tie yourselfor rely on somebody else to sign up for stuff for youor do things for you...

We are struggling mightily trying to see how to proceed.

Anyway...

That's a bit of where we are and what we are up to.

We have spent the last many months looking at what Jesus said in the gospels. I see much radical directions there, some of which looks all butimpossible, but I and mine want to be profitableservants/slaves. We want to love everybody and bea blessing wherever we are and don't even imagine that we have all the answers (Ha!).

(name)

(January 1, 2011)

Hello (name),

Thanks for your "revealing" letter. If found it to be encouraging, confirming, and heartwarming. My present impression is that we are both walking along the path which the followers of Jesus have found throughout the centuries. I encourage you to continue on the way.

Let me comment briefly on your references to "the dead-end of no drivers license and no ties to the system", "trying to divorce yourself from the world system", and "some tie to the system is required even to live".

These are matters that all kingdom seekers are struggling with because they are related to the essence of what it means to choose His kingdom or system instead of the system of the world. We don't have final answers or answers that we should try to impose on others because his calling is living and dynamic, heard in our hearts over time, and not limited (as you confirm that many of us were taught) to static words recorded in final form in a book available for study.

After reading your report, I do not wish to suggest that you should change your thinking or direction of activity. My comments below are only intended to refer to the way you express your thinking and choose words. I suspect that if we could engage in clarifying dialog we'd find that our thoughts were in agreement. Yet our choice of words can both indicate lack or clarity and also condition how our thoughts will form in the future. So let's consider three word choices of yours.

"the dead end of no drivers license and no ties to the system"Nobody wants to move toward a dead end. It implies frustration, if not an end of life. It's a bad place to go. I wouldn't agree that having no drivers license or ties to the system (depending on the definition of "ties") is always bad. So I don't like the choice of terms. It is a situation of challenge, perhaps loss, perhaps discomfort, but perhaps also one of opportunity, growth, learning, and reward. Let's not prejudge such situations with our choice of label.

"trying to divorce yourself from the world system"Our concept of divorce applies primarily to marital arrangements. The Biblical ideal is always a permanent relationship. Divorce is never the first preference or desire. It is thought of as, at best, an unintended consequence and bad experience. The word has bad overtones. Divorce is to be avoided whenever possible. I don't want to bring such connotations to the concept of separation from the world system. Again, it may be a challenging, uncomfortable, unpopular action, but it is the way to a better life, one more free, rewarding, and fulfilling. So let's not imply by a choice of label that it's an undesirable experience.

"some tie to the system is required even to live"On the face of it, this statement seems to end all discussion. We all want to live. We don't want to suggest that someone should abandon something required for life, and die. As is so often the case, the validity of the statement depends on the definition of terms, specifically the word tie. My sense is that the ties to the system which we are to break are those which require allegiance, obedience, and support to authorities who offer to rule over us and reward us with benefits. This does not mean we are to stop all interactions with others who are a part of the system, or refuse their offers to freely trade with us or give us something which they were able to receive because of their participation in the system. In every age there are people like Joseph of Arimathea who secretly want to support the kingdom, and welcome the opportunity to be of service. Such interactions are found throughout history among those who sought another way, who often reminded each other that "the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." When I consider all the ingenious ways in which my needs, and the needs of countless others throughout the centuries have been provided for, I am reminded that I serve an amazingly creative Father, who has a sense of humor. When the kings of the earth conspire against him, he laughs. So long as we do not intentionally deceive or defraud, and so long as all parties are blessed through such interactions, it seems to me that our Father is pleased with them.

As a footnote to the last paragraph, let me add that as we walk the alternative path, it is amazing how many ways we find to make arrangements for living outside the system. Everyone on the path has his own examples. The variety is endless and amusing. Living outside the system of the world is not only possible. It is the only full life.